Inking attachment for printing presses



Filed June 21, 1947 March 7, 1950 J, o s cA 2,499,638

INKING ATTACHMENT FOR PRINTING PRESSES wH I 1 llllillllllll I INVENTOR. 7W

Patented Mar. 7, 1950 UNITED STATES eATEuT OFFICE! INKING.-AT'I AGHMENT FOR PRINTING. PBESSES Leo J L Fonseca, New York, N: Y., assignor't' olsaae Goldmann Gompany, New'York, N; Y5, a corporation of New York Applicati'onjune 21, 1947,,Seria1N0. 756;1'l5f 3 Claims;

suit-is duezinl'argemeasure towtheevenness-ofink distributiorron theinkplate: meanstior'sogapply ing'it to the ink plate comprise a fountain roller disposed' within the inkfountain, and a ductor roller Whichreceives' ink-from thefountai'n roller for direct transfer to the ink plate. A plurality of vibrating'rollers then worktthe inkevenly'over the surface ofthe plate;

A critical step is in the transfer fromthe fountain roller tothe'ductor" roller: Foreach reciprocation of the ink plate the fountain roller is rotated through a portion of a revolution, the extent of' surface" travel being important and carefully controlled. Rotation of the fountain roller is generally producedby'a pawl'drive which engages the teeth of a ratchet wheel: keyed to the roller. In the devices of. the art the ductor roller is driven only by frictional. engagement with. the outer; periphery of the fountain roller.

With the thick, inks generallyv used. in theart there wassufficient friction to drive the ductor roller without slippage. If it' is desired to use a relatively thinner ink, howeventhe ink acts as a lubricant, and slippage occurs between the fountain andlductor rollers; This resultsin ink being piled upon the ductor roller-at. the point'of'icontact, which results in uneven inlrdistributonon the ink plate. Another reason for thisuneven distribution of ink resides. in the fact. that the ductor roller after leaving the fountain roller for application ofink, to the plate returns and contactsv the, fountain. roller in the same area of the periphery of'the, ductor roller as theretofore. If this point of contact remainsthe same; during several successive operations, the ink willbuild'up in a plurality of layers on the same are of the ductor roll, thus.leaving, too. thicka deposit on the same are While starving the remainderoi the surface. This results in uneveninkdistribution regardless of'the qual'ityof ink employed. Suc- 4 cessful' ihk' distribution occurs only if the fountain roller contacts a different portion of the 1periphery oi the fountain roller each successive ime;

Thus, an important object" ofthe'present invention is to provide a novelarrangement whereby; the ink, regardless of its viscosity,- has an even distribution on the ink plate, means being provided forimparting' driving; rotation to the ductorroller: so that a difierent point" on itspetriphery strikes :the fountain-roller at. each succestsive application of ink; and sothat'positivedrlveis afforded during applicati'onof the'ink iromthe fountain roller. The resultistwo-foldthe: ink isapplied-evenlyto the ductor roller, whichthen applies it evenly to-the ink plate;

Means for assuring a different point ofcontact between ductor roller and-fountain roller at the'beginning of each new cycle comprise an improved brake, up which a smooth terminal ofthe ductor roller shaft travels as it rises to ink-plateapplyi'ng position, and down which it travels to begin a new cycle. Thus, another-object of the invention is the provision of 'a" novel and improved brake for printing presses of this character, the brake comprising a spring-pressed, yiel'dable member which exerts an approved measureof pressure on the periphery of the ductor roller shaft.

A further object of the invention is theprovision of a novel brake which does not require periodic adjustment, and which functions with uniform results regardless of climatic conditions and degree of wear of the facing of leather or othermaterial on the surface of such brake.

Inthe drawing:

Fig; 1- is abroken top plan view of a fiat bed printingpress-embodying the improved'ink distributionmeans for-the ductor roller embodying the present invention. v

Fig; 2 is a" broken side elevation thereof.

Fig; 3"i's a broken-sideelevation of the-improved brake, the; view-showing the position ofthe parts Whenthe ductor roller is in its'lowerm'ost' position.

Fig 4'is' similar to Fig. 3, but shows the position of the'part's when theductor rolleri's inthe-posi tion for applying ink to the ink plate.

Fig. 5" shows the relation of-' the parts-when in intermediate position.-

Referring now more particularly to the draw'-'- ing, the fountain roller I is mounted on a shaft I I which is journalled in a frame I2. The ink fountain consists of a plate I3, the lower end of which almost contacts the roller below its axis, the width of the gap being variable. An intermittent drive (not shown) for the roller may consist of the usual ratchet wheel mounted on the shaft, a tooth thereof being engaged in driving relation by a ratchet whose stroke is variable. Thus, in each cycle the roller may be rotated through an are equal to the combined distance between a predetermined number of teeth.

The ductor roller I4 is carried on shaft I5 supported at the outer ends of spaced arms I6 which are pivoted at H. After application of the ink to the ductor roller the arm and the roller are raised, and reciprocating ink plate I8 passes therebeneath in contact with the roller. In accordance with usual practice a smooth extension of shaft I5 rides up an arcuate surface faced with leather, generally called the brake, which accelerates the roller to a surface speed which approximates that of the ink plate. On return motion this frictional contact decelerates the roller down for engagement with the fountain roller. All of the foregoing is conventional and forms no part of the present invention.

The improved ductor roller driving means of the present invention includes a driving gear 2| keyed to the fountain roller shaft II, a driven gear 22 keyed to the ductor roller shaft I5, and intermediate or idler gears 23 and 24 journalled 0n the frame I2. If the idler gears are of the same size, driving gear 2I should be larger than driven gear 22 by an amount such as to give ductor roller I4 substantially the same surface speed as the fountain roller, the latter being of larger diameter, as shown.

By this arrangement there is no slippage between the two rollers if a relatively thinner or less viscous ink is employed. This definitely avoids the possibility of ink piling up on the fountain roller. Inasmuch as the teeth of gear 22 leave their meshing engagement with the teeth of idler gear 24 during upward and then downward travel, it is preferred to reduce the width of the apices of these teeth, as by means of filing or grinding them until they are substantially pointed. This facilitates intermeshing of the teeth on the return stroke.

The brakes of the prior art consisted of a curved member, generally faced with leather, such member and its leather facing forming the arc of a circle whose radius was equal to the distance between such member and the axis of shaft II. The improved brake of the present invention is yieldable and has a spring-pressed action against the periphery of the ductor roller shaft. It may comprise an arcuate member 27 formed preferably from spring steel and which is provided at one end thereof with an angular extension 28 which is secured, as by means of bolts 29, to frame member 30. The outer surface of this arcuate member is provided with a facing 3| of leather or other similar material. Member 21 has a curved contour forming the arc of a somewhat smaller circle than a circle, the arc of which lies in the general location of the member and whose center coincides with the axis of shaft I'I. As the free end of shaft I 5 travels up the surfaced brake, arcuate member 21 yields or flexes, as shown in Fig. 5.

Since upward travel of the outer terminals of arms I6 is quite rapid, the brake acts as an effective drive to rotate shaft I5 in order that the III ductor roller will be rotating at a very considerable speed when it is contacted by the ink plate. When it leaves the ink plate for its downward travel, the brake retards and effectively stops rotation before the ductor roller contacts the fountain roller which has at that time not commenced rotation. By this arrangement, on each successive cycle a different point on the periphery of the ductor roller contacts the fountain roller.

No adjustment of the parts is necessary, regardless of the extent of wear of the resilient facing on the brake, and this can be worn to almost paper thinness before it is necessary to replace it. Also, changes in humidity have practically no effect upon the effective operation of the brake. If desired, the member 21 could be formed of more rigid material and could be mounted as by means of pins located in apertures within frame 30 while spring means urge the unit outwardly into contact with the shaft terminal.

While one form or embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein for illustrative purposes, and the construction and arrangement incidental to a specific application thereof have been disclosed and discussed in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is limited neither to the mere details or relative arrangement of parts, nor to its specific embodiment shown herein, but that extensive deviations from the illustrated form or embodiment of the invention may be made without departing from the principles thereof.

What I claim is:

1. In a printing press having a frame, a reciprocating ink plate, a ductor roller provided with a shaft journalled at the outer terminals of arms pivoted on the frame, an intermittently driven fountain roller, and means for supplying ink to the fountain roller, the combination of means for improving the ink distribution on the ductor roller, said means comprising a positive drive for the ductor roller while it is in contact with the fountain roller, and a friction drive therefor during travel to and from ink plate applying position, the positive drive comprising a gear train between the driven fountain roller and the ductor roller, the friction drive comprising a brake over which the ductor roller shaft traverses during such travel, said brake having a resilient facing and being formed of resilient metal, said brake being of arcuate contour and being yieldable adjacent its central portion so as to flex inwardly as the shaft terminal passes thereover.

2. In a printing press having a frame, an ink plate, a ductor roller provided with a shaft journalled at the outer terminals of arms pivoted on the frame, an intermittently driven fountain roller, and means for supplying ink to the fountain roller, the combination of means for improving the ink distribution on the ductor roller, said means comprising a gear train between the driven fountain roller and the ductor roller and being operative while the two rollers are in contact for positively driving the latter during said intermittent rotation of the former, said means further comprising a brake provided with a resilient facing and over which the ductor roller shaft traverses during travel to ink plate applying position, said brake being of arcuate contour and being yieldable adjacent its central portion so as to flex inwardly as the shaft terminal passes thereover.

3. In a fiat bed printing press having a frame, a reciprocating ink plate, a ductor roller provided with a shaft which is journalled at the outer terminals of arms pivoted on the frame, an intermittently driven fountain roller, and an ink fountain in association with the fountain roller, the combination of means for improving the ink distribution on the ductor roller prior to transfer of the ink to the ink plate, said means comprising an arcuate brake down which a terminal of the ductor roller shaft travels prior to application of ink to such roller from the fountain roller, and means for driving the ductor roller during such application, the arcuate brake including an arcuate member formed of resilient metal which is secured at one end thereof to the frame and which has a contour such as to be flexed as the shaft terminal passes thereover, such member having a facing of yieldable material, said ductor roll driving means comprising a gear train between the fountain roller and the ductor roller and being operative while the two rollers are in contact.

LEO J. FONSECA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,197,825 Hoe Sept. 12, 1916 1,997,140 Garfat Apr. 9, 1935 2,120,978 Huck June 21, 1938 15 2,354,981 Barber Aug. 1, 1944 

